Nairobi - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Global Counter-Terrorism Forum - a platform for multilateral engagement to prevent and combat terrorism - held the twenty-third meeting of its Coordinating Committee yesterday, Thursday, February 29, in Nairobi, Kenya. Egypt and the European Union, which will remain at the helm of the forum for another two years until 2026, affirmed their strong commitment to supporting African-led efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism, and to partnership and interaction with African countries, regional organizations and those closest to the world. The most vulnerable communities. According to a press release distributed in Brussels, “This event was held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Monica Juma, National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kenya. Senior counter-terrorism and criminal justice officials, civil society practitioners and leading think tanks joined, along with key partners, international organizations and institutions inspired by the Global Forum.” To combat terrorism, to the 32 members of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum to explore opportunities for joint action to combat and prevent terrorism and violent extremism.conducive to terrorism.
The twenty-third meeting of the Coordination Committee, co-chaired by the European Union and Egypt, focused on strengthening cooperative action to deter the threat of terrorism. Kenya, the new member and host of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, stressed the importance of proactive action and its determination to strengthen East Africa’s cooperation with the Forum. The European Union and Egypt reaffirmed their strong commitment to supporting African-led efforts to combat terrorism and the ideologies behind it, highlighting the importance of partnerships with African countries, regional organizations and diverse stakeholders who represent the interests of – and address the concerns of – vulnerable communities. .
Member States renewed the mandate of the Co-Chairs of the European Union and Egypt for an additional two years. Committed to further implementing their strategic priorities, the Co-Chairs will seek to maintain the Forum’s specialized role in combating multilateral terrorism, as a flexible and dynamic platform that responds to the needs of those most affected by terrorism and its consequences.
“The European Union will continue its role at the helm of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum for another two years in partnership with Egypt. We will build on the steps we have taken collectively with the members of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum to realize our priorities and our commitment towards greater inclusivity: in our partnerships as well as in the engagement of diverse stakeholders, Including civil society, and in promoting gender equality and equality around the world. Action “We will continue our efforts to support African partners in addressing – and to help make their people resilient to – terrorism, violent extremism and their ideologies,” Nadia Costantini, Special Envoy For the European External Action Service to Counter-Terrorism, and Co-Chair of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum.
Members who co-chair the five working groups of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum will continue their mandates from 2024 to 2026. Members commended the Forum’s new members, Kenya and Kuwait, for their strong participation in leading the Working Group for Capacity-building in East Africa. And the Forum continues to support African solutions to combat terrorism on the African continent.
“At the beginning of a new period of our co-presidency of the Forum, we celebrate the revival of the East African Working Group after the endorsement of Kenya and Kuwait, a milestone that motivates us to continue to strive towards achieving our strategic priorities for the Forum for the years 2023-2025 in partnership with the European Union.” “The role of women continues to be strengthened “Streamlining the actual needs of local populations through the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum’s outputs and toolkits are key pillars of our priorities,” said Ambassador Walid El-Feki, Director of the Counter-Terrorism Unit at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Co-Chair of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum.
During the meeting, members focused on the prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration of former terrorists, guided by first-hand experts who recommended ways to support effective and tailored operations. The three institutions closely associated with the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum – the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), the Hedayah Foundation, and the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) – have the experience and networks to support this effort globally.
A series of events leading up to the Coordination Committee meeting demonstrated the Forum's convening capacity, its comprehensiveness, its growing network, and its increasing experience. The Global Counter-Terrorism Forum held consultations with civil society practitioners and engaged senior counter-terrorism representatives from East, South and Central Africa to initiate cooperation to address the escalating regional threat. The West Africa Working Group invited experts from the region to the meeting. The EU Counter-Terrorism Platform for Human Rights Engagement, CT PHARE, run by the International Institute of Justice and the Rule of Law, brought together representatives from Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, civil society, practitioners and human rights experts over two days.
To participate in the EU-led “Oversight and Accountability Initiative” that will formulate good practices to develop independent and effective mechanisms to oversee the lawful use of powers, prevent abuse of power, and build confidence in law enforcement in order to combat terrorism sustainably and successfully. The Working Group on Countering Violent Extremism met in a plenary session, to reflect on the great strides that have been made in developing and operationalizing the framework documents of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum that Responds to emerging trends in the global threat of terrorism.
The members of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, Kenya and Germany, also launched a new initiative on the relationship between climate change and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, with support from the Global Counterterrorism Forum, with the aim of addressing and preventing climate change-related drivers of radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
“Kenya is pleased to host this important and timely event. For more than a decade, the Global Counterterrorism Forum has led global efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism. This unique forum gives practitioners from around the world the opportunity to develop and share effective interventions to respond to the dynamics “The complex and widespread threat of terrorism and violent extremism,” Dr. Rosalind Nyawera, Director, National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC), Kenya.
The Co-Chairs of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, the European Union and Egypt, reaffirmed their commitment to working with the Forum members, the three Forum-inspired institutions, and in close partnership with the UN Global Coordination Compact and partners around the world to implement comprehensive approaches to address the problem. Identify the root causes of terrorism and provide practical responses to threats on the ground.